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^Well the pit does exist for our political rants, but there is something to say on this thread about the RIP due our boys and girls dying in the thankless hell...I mean world of the Middle East. Despite our diverse political views, we can't overlook their loss, even if they don't enjoy the unnecessary (and shameless) fame most of the names on this thread have been given....

That being the case, and this being a thread about current and recent deaths, July 2009 proved to be the bloodiest month ever for troops in Afghnaistan.

July Bloodiest Month in Afghanistan

Sad news from Afghanistan: July was the deadliest month for Americans and their foreign allies since the war began. Seventy-two foreignersó43 of them Americanódied in July, largely from roadside bombs. Twenty-two British soldiers also died, marking the highest death toll for the nation's troops since the Falklands War in 1980. The high number of deaths is the result of the recent American offensive, and the growing U.S. troop build-up, which will reach 68,000 by the end of the year. Fighting was especially bloody because U.S. troops are trying to secure the country by the August 20 presidential electionówhich the Taliban is trying to disrupt. The bloodiest month had previously been July 2008, in which only 28 U.S. soldiers died.

This is a topic that is near and dear to me because he was a native of a small town close to where I grew up. Also, I've spent the early part of 2008 working on the local and state level Democratic Party's platforms Agriculture and Environment subcomittee as both author and advisor where food and food supply were key issues.

He won his Nobel Prize for creating genetically modified crops that resist diseases. He than spent the remainder of his days lobbying, funding, and promoting the need to develop stable affordable nutritious food for all. Prof. Borlaug showed that science and it's applications have real consequences for human outcomes and that the passion can make differences in peoples lives. A true humanitarian, the world is slightly diminished at his passing.